Minor Character
by Lara-Van
Summary: Claire was the heroine, not me, and I'd be lying if that wasn't at least part of the reason I was leaving. I wanted to be the heroine of my own life, not supporting cast in someone else's story." Hard to summarize, Gretchen and Rene drive to the airport.


**S**o I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to break my Peter habit. But it's very hard, when they keep giving me amazing material to work with on the Peter/Emma stuff you know they're working toward. But even if I can't get past my obsession with the "Italian Eagle Scout" (lol, _muchas gracias_ Sylar for that little gem), I can at least write stuff for other characters.

* * *

God, this was so hard, leaving Claire. I had fallen so hard over my roommate, I could hardly believe it was possible, and that was what made leaving so hard. But I _had_ to go. Two weeks ago, my life had been totally ordinary. Now I was running for my life from an invisible girl. I glanced at Rene, sitting in the passenger seat of my Jeep, hoping he couldn't see the tears that were threatening to spill over the edges of my eyes.

"You don't talk much, do you?" I muttered.

He just shrugged.

After a thoroughly uncomfortable silence- for me anyway- I said, "So... you work for Claire's dad."

Rene nodded.

"You've worked for him a long time?"

He nodded.

Okay, clearly yes or no questions wasn't the way to go. "How long?" I asked.

"Many years," he said. "He and I were partners for a very long time."

Enigmas are my favorite thing in the world, but this was getting frustrating. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white- I had to, to keep from reaching over him and hitting him just to see if he'd react at all. Several more minutes passed in silence as we crawled through the predictably slow traffic. Finally, I said, "Why is this happening to me?" I knew it sounded whiny, but I didn't care by this point. I was too scared.

Rene looked at me. "It is because you have chosen to ally yourself with Claire," he said.

I laughed, despite the tears that were choking my voice. "I didn't chose anything!" I exclaimed. "I didn't "ally" myself with Claire! She's my roommate and she can't die and now people are chasing me down and trying to kill me!" I knew my voice was rising to near-hysteria as it had during my last goodbye to Claire, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

The Haitian man studied me for a moment, then smiled. "You do not know even yourself," he said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You are not like the other friends Claire has had over the years. You will be different."

I shook my head. "Yeah, I will! I'm leaving before hanging out with her can get me killed!"

But he was still smiling enigmatically. "But I do not think you will stay gone. You will be drawn back to her, because when the time comes, Claire is the only one who can possibly understand."

"Understand what?"

"That is for you to discover on your own," he said. Then he turned back to the window, and the back of his head made it very clear that the conversation was over.

Great. Just freaking great. This was the last thing I wanted. I closed my eyes for a moment against the sting of tears. All my life, I had loved the strange and the bizarre. I'd been absorbed by fantasy novels and always wanted to be the heroine of some science fiction story. But now that I'd found myself in the situation, it was a lot scarier than I'd thought. I didn't think I could handle it, because...

Well, because I wasn't Claire.

Claire was the heroine, not me, and I'd be lying if that wasn't at least part of the reason I was leaving. I wanted to be the heroine of my own life, not supporting cast in someone else's story.

Finally, the seemingly interminable drive came to an end as I pulled up outside the airport. We went through security in silence- I don't know how Rene got through, since he didn't have a boarding pass or anything, but I assume he used his super-secret mind-meld ability to pass through. We waited on the concourse in silence for our plane to begin boarding. At last, I was on my way home to the sunshine of southern Texas.

Before I could walk away, though, Rene spoke. "Gretchen," he said, and I froze.

I turned to face him. "What?"

"When the time comes, when it happens, come to Claire," he said. "She cares about you a great deal. Trust her when there is no one else."

And then he was gone, striding confidently away through the crowd surrounding us. I stood alone amid my suitcases and my bags, the only person standing still in a sea of people. What the hell did that mean? And why did it make me feel like I was making a serious mistake?

* * *

I don't know why, but I keep having this sneaking suspicion that Gretchen is going to manifest an ability. I don't particularly want her to, but I also think that they're going that way. Can't wait until she's back in "Thanksgiving"!


End file.
